ISLAMABAD: A meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Law and Justice was held under the chairmanship of Senator Farooq H. Naek, with National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Chairman Lt Gen (Retd) Nazir Ahmad Butt and senior NAB officials in attendance.

The meeting discussed NAB’s performance, recent amendments to accountability laws, the complaints mechanism and proposed reforms aimed at improving the institution’s effectiveness and transparency.

NAB officials informed the committee that a dedicated complaint cell has been established at the NAB headquarters, while all seven regional offices have been linked with the headquarters to improve coordination and the handling of complaints.

The NAB chairman told the committee that more than 2,500 complaints had previously been pending, around 80 percent of which were found to be fake. He said a new system had been developed in consultation with all stakeholders to scrutinize complaints more effectively.

According to the chairman, complaints were sometimes filed against individuals simply because they had not received a contract or were planning to contest elections. He said many complaints were motivated by bad faith and that inquiries had been initiated against some complainants.

Committee Chairman Farooq H. Naek questioned whether action had been taken against those filing false complaints, saying such individuals waste state resources.


NAB Says It Will Remain Apolitical

The issue of NAB’s involvement in political cases also came under discussion. Senator Kamran Murtaza said the bureau had faced criticism because of politically sensitive cases.

Responding to the concerns, the NAB chairman said the performance of the bureau before and after 2022 should be compared. He maintained that no political individual had been targeted during his tenure.

He reiterated that NAB would remain apolitical and would not register fabricated cases against anyone. He said the institution’s objective was to identify corruption and recover public money rather than malign individuals.

The chairman also said that politicians accounted for around six percent of total corruption cases, while complaints involving government officials stood at around 11 percent and those related to private businesses at approximately 40 percent.

He noted that political corruption often receives greater attention in the media, despite politicians representing a relatively smaller share of the overall cases.


Focus on Mega Corruption Cases

Farooq H. Naek urged NAB to focus on major corruption cases instead of pursuing minor cases. The NAB chairman responded that if the committee referred mega-corruption cases to the bureau, NAB would not disappoint them.

The chairman also said that NAB’s powers had been significantly reduced, claiming that in some matters even a police station house officer had greater powers than a NAB director general.

Naek observed that the reduction in NAB’s powers was linked to the institution’s misuse in the past.


Assessment of 30 Federal Institutions

The Director General NAB informed the committee that an assessment study of 30 federal institutions had been launched under the Prime Minister’s Economic Reforms Action initiative.

The study will assess corruption risks and expenditure-related vulnerabilities in the institutions. Their rankings are expected to be completed by October, after which institutions considered more vulnerable to corruption will face stricter monitoring by NAB.

The DG NAB also announced plans to introduce a whistleblower mechanism under which officials who identify corruption within their departments will be provided protection.

Under the proposed mechanism, complaints against parliamentarians will be referred to the speaker of the relevant assembly, while complaints against federal employees will be sent to the Secretary Establishment. The concerned authorities will be given two months for further action.


NAB Reports Rs16,093 Billion in Recoveries

According to the DG NAB, the bureau recovered Rs16,093 billion between 1991 and June 2026.

He said NAB had examined 505,799 complaints, completed 7,339 investigations, conducted 121,147 inquiries and filed 4,105 references since its establishment.

The DG also said significant case shifting had taken place between 2022 and 2024, affecting decisions over which cases should be pursued. Under the current framework, NAB does not directly deal with cases involving embezzlement of less than Rs500 million.

The NAB chairman said the institution had recovered Rs17 billion during the past two years, adding that NAB was working to improve its performance and cooperation with other state institutions.

The committee chairman expressed confidence in the NAB chairman’s integrity and capabilities, clarifying that the committee’s concerns were directed at the institution’s system and performance rather than any individual.

The committee also reviewed NAB’s proposals for further amendments to accountability laws and said the recommendations would be considered during future legislation.